Alex Rodriguez wasn't in the lineup for the Yankees' Triple-A team on Sunday, a day before he was supposed to be activated. / Jason Farmer. AP

by John Perrotto, Special for USA TODAY Sports

by John Perrotto, Special for USA TODAY Sports

MOOSIC, Pa. - Frank Menechino looked at a reporter and said "you can go home" before taking the lineup card posted on the bulletin board in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders' clubhouse on Sunday morning down and tearing it up.

The former big-league second baseman and current member of the coaching staff of the New York Yankees' Class AAA farm club could have said the same thing to Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was scratched from the lineup with a sore left quadriceps in what was supposed to his last minor-league rehab game before being activated from the disabled list. He has been out all season while recovering from right hip surgery that was performed in January.

The Yankees had him travel to New York on Sunday afternoon to undergo an MRI at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and be examined by team physician Christopher Ahmad.

Rodriguez declined to speak with reporters before leaving PNC Field during the second inning of Scranton/Wilkes Barre's game with Louisville in the International League.

The 37-year-old Rodriguez was originally supposed to play third base and bat second after being limited to designated hitter duty on Saturday night because of the quad.

The original plan was for Rodriguez to make his season debut Monday night for the Yankees when they open a four-game series against the Texas Rangers at Arlington.

Under Major League Baseball rules, the Yankees would have to wait a minimum of 10 days before they could send Rodriguez on another rehab assignment. They could have him report to their training facility in Tampa, Fla., in the interim to play in simulated games.

Rodriguez, who also faced possible discipline from MLB for his connection to Florida's Biogenesis clinic, played a total of 13 games for the Yankees' four full-season farm clubs. He hit .200 (8-for-40) with one double, two home runs, eight RBIs, one walk and 12 strikeouts.

In three games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he went 3-for-12 (.250) with one homer and two RBIs while striking out five times.

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A scout from a major-league club who watched Rodriguez with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre believes he can help the Yankees. After hitting at least 30 home runs in 13 straight seasons from 1998-2010, Rodriguez hit a combined 34 home runs the last two years.

"He's not the A-Rod of old but he can still drive the fastball out over the plate the other way and he'll catch what he can get to," the scout said. "He is better than what the Yankees have at third base."

The Yankees have had three players start at least 20 games at third base this season â?? rookie David Adams (29), Jayson Nix (25) and Kevin Youkilis (20).

Adams was hitting .190 with two home runs in 35 games going into Sunday night's game at Boston. Nix had a .236 batting average and two homers in 72 games.

Youkilis, signed to a one-year, $12-million contract as a free agent in the offseason, underwent surgery June 20 to repair a herniated disc in his back and is not expected back until at least late August.